Tension as Boko Haram grounds 10 LGs in Borno

Government activities have been paralysed in ten of the 27 local government areas of Borno State, no thanks to the Boko Haram insurgency.

Council chairmen,their councillors and other top officials have abandoned their duty posts in the affected areas and relocated to Maiduguri, the state capital, yesterday, two days after the Federal Government constituted the Kabiru Tanimu-led committee on dialogue and peaceful resolution of security challenges in the North.

Two of the committee members-Mallam Shehu Sani and Dr.Datti Ahmed-have declined to serve on the panel, but there were indications last night that Northern governors, political leaders and traditional rulers were mounting pressure on them to reconsider their position.

The security situation has jolted Governor Kashim Shettima to buy 200 brand new patrol Hilux vans to the Joint Task Force (JTF) to enable it flush the insurgents out of the 10 local government areas.

Worst hit in those areas are villages and districts where Boko Haram has established bases.

A top source said: “It has got to a point that we just have to cry out. Most stakeholders in the state have become worried that the 10 LGAs in the Northern part have been overrun by Boko Haram members, especially at the village and district levels.

“In some of these 10 local government area, workers have practically abandoned offices with political office holders, especially local government chairmen, taking refuge in Maiduguri , the state capital.

“Each time Governor Kashim Shettima had cause to inspect or inaugurate a few projects in these LGAs, the fleeing chairmen tried to sneak in under security cover to fulfil their constitutional obligation.

“We are appealing to President Goodluck Jonathan to rescue Northern Borno. We have no business being in Mali, if this northern part is not secured. If Boko Haram takes total control of the Northern part, they may later launch attacks on the Central and Southern parts.”

Continuing,the source said: “We are also suspecting a spill over of Mali crisis into northern part of Borno State to strengthen Boko Haram members. There are reports that Boko Haram members are calling the shots in these 10 local government areas.

“The sect members are said to now mount road blocks to fish out government workers for attacks, a situation that has made most government officials and civil servants to flee the entire local government areas in the northern part with the exception of Damasak.

“The sect members are also in control of Bama and some part of the Konduga Local Government Area, both in the central part of the state after chasing away government officials and civil servants with serial attacks and car snatches. Residents fear that the federal government is adamant in handling the situation

“In the Marte Local Government Area , for instance, the sect members are in full control of most villages, they patrol the areas, control streets and markets, while they organize public preachings in village markets like that of Krenuwa, the home base of top government officials, including the current Secretary to the State Government, Ambassador Baba Ahmed Jidda, who is a member of the just- established Committee on Dialogue and Peaceful Resolution of Security Challenges in the North.

“That is the true picture of things in the northern part. This northern part of Borno, which is the desert side of the state, has local government areas that share international land borders with Cameroon and Niger, leading into Chad (which is connected within a short distance from border areas of Cameroon), Central African Republic and Mali, where a militancy and rebel groups operated until France and the UN intervened.

“Ngala (in the far central) and Abadamin the far northern part of the state as well as Baga in Bama (in the central) share international borders with Cameroon , Niger and Chad (which is connected within a short distance from border areas of Cameroon ).

“Like the case in Mali , reports have indicated that some sect members now control laws in some markets in the northern part, especially in Marte LGA, regulating policies on sale of grains, with strict prohibitions on sale of cigarettes.

“The sect members have also chased out an agricultural transformation team set up by Governor Shettima out of Marte, making them abandon harvest of wheat in a 5,000 hectares of irrigation land, revived and funded by the state with nearly N500million going down the drain. Nearly 30,000 benefiting farmers have been forced out of the site.

“The farm was established through collaboration between the Borno Government and the Federal Government owned Chad Basin Development Authority which has over 60,000 hectares of unused irrigation farm in Marte.”

Responding to a question, the source said: “The challenge we have is that there is almost zero presence of the JTF in the northern part. This is why stakeholders are pleading with the Federal Government to intervene before things get out of hand.

“We know the JTF is trying, but it has to focus on Northern Borno. At present, the JTF members have kept away from some of the local government areas, leaving them in full control of the sect members.”

The source, however, gave kudos to the JTF for substantially securing the central and central parts of the state.

“The JTF has, however, remained in control of Maiduguri, Jere and most parts of the central part of the state, while the southern part has been relatively more stable, even though with intermittent attacks taking place in Damboa, Chibok, Biu and Gwoza local government areas.

“Most other parts of the south that include Hawul, Bayo, Kwaya Kusar, Askira/Uba and Shani have remained peaceful with rare cases recorded over time,” the source said.

Meanwhile, northern governors, political leaders and traditional rulers yesterday continued to mount pressure on the President of the Supreme Council of Sharia in Nigeria, Dr. Datti Ahmed, and a foremost Nigerian human rights activist and the President, Civil Rights Congress, Comrade Shehu Sani, to serve on the 26-man amnesty panel raised by President Goodluck Jonathan on Wednesday.

It was gathered that these governors have been begging the two leaders to collaborate with the government to restore peace to the North.

Sani, who spoke with our correspondent last night, confirmed the pressure, but he said the amnesty committee could not succeed since the insurgents had kicked against the idea.

He said: “People have been calling me, but it is not about pressure but results. I am passionate about peace and end to this violence, but all that I have said was that a wrong step had been taken from the beginning and it would achieve no result at the end.

“I cannot change my position because what makes matter worse is the availability of the insurgents to the idea of amnesty. Getting in touch with the insurgents is not the problem, but one must be sure that it must be for something that is done with genuine intention and not a scam.

“If the government wants this amnesty and dialogue committee to succeed, it should have sought advice on the way to go about it from step one. But for now, they have taken the wrong step and it would lead to the wrong answer.

“What I am saying is: if the insurgents have voiced out their opposition to amnesty, what will be the job of an amnesty committee.”

On her part, the only female member of the amnesty committee, Hajiya Naja’atu Mohammed, who sent a text to our correspondent from Saudi Arabia , said: “I saw your sms; I am right now in Jeddah, but Insa Allahu, I am accepting to serve on the committee. Thanks.”

its a BIG pity, i weep for our security in Nigeria! they should go for lessons on how to deal withthese vermins especially that one called Shekau.
The bombin in Boston took JUST a week from start to finish, how on earth is it taking the SSS, NIA, DIA, JTF to get to the root of the matter?
The body language of this government is just too laid back and leaves much to be desired, else what stops them from making good examples of Sen. Ndume, Modu Sheriff etc?
Then again, the people of Borno are not helping matters by not disclosing information about the BH guys, of course they leave amongst them, don’t they?

AYO OLAJIDE

IT IS WRITTEN THAT WE DONT NEED TO FIGHT IN THIS BATTLE FOR THE BATTLE IS OF THE LORD.

AYO OLAJIDE

The battle is of the LORD.

obj

Yes you are very correct the battle is for GOD but since GOD will not come from heaven to fight the battle HIMSELF, HE will then use the JTF to flush those bloody killers out of Nigeria.

Just know that the BH boys have finished 50 out of 52 catholic churches in Borno.
Shld the people wait till they go extinct?
Imagine what d scenario would hv been if it was d other way round!!!!
Dude, na to waste the bastards without batting an eyelid……
Enough of all the religious flavors coming into matters that demand outrite RPG/Bunker buster deployment,
What nangsens?????

john ladan

we now know the real enemies of this country and sponsors of boko haram.

AGENT PHILIP

THERE WOULD PEACE IN NIGERIA AGAIN,LETS KEEP PRAYING

Abraham

Yes! Amen!

Don T

Its unfortunate that the FG cannot see the hand writing written on the wall. It is clear that BOKO HARAM don’t want amnesty because according to them, they have don nothing wrong to deserve amnesty. Secondly, FG should know that this guys are fighting religious war called Jihad and that is why nothing seems wrong when churches are burnt and Christians are killed. The earlier the better FG should face this group head on before they reach out to the president.

Bioseh

The FG should get out of Borno State. Build a firewall around its borders. Let the people have their Islamic State and Sharia rule. If other States want to join them so be it. Stop shedding innocent blood, against the will of the people. Katsina, Jigawa and other States have not experienced this rubbish, because the people don’t care for it. Kano people are starting to find it revolting and will not take it anymore.

Borno people must fight against this thing by fully deciding to work with the Federal authorities. It is time to stop the games.

Okwuchuku Uyama

U must bear in mind that the BH members were not what they are now from the beginning of their lives. Especially in Borno, somebody made them to become what they are and it will require people who have studied them and can control them to turn them around, since for a long time now, the JTF has not been able to contain them. They are Nigerians and they may not know what they do as they may be under influence. Anything that could be done to rehabilitate them and bring their operations to an end should be tried. I join others in pleading with Datti and Sani, even though I understand them.

Flame

This is ridiculous! Why perssurising them to serve in a committee they don’t deserve to serve in? Baal can not fight baal neither can baal plea with baal. They know themselves and if someone will say getting to Boko Haram is not a problem and this same person was appointed by GJ yet he has been claiming BH is ghost, I smell a rat here!

reading this paper makes me to weep for those in northern borno,does it mean all d tours of GEJ to niger,cameroun and across d country and sending of troops to mali he cant work with his counterpart presidents to secure d borders that link with nigeria to end d infiltration of terrorists into d country and wat r service chiefs doing in regards to this?if JTF has deserted northern borno leaving d terrorists to take control,then nigeria is finished becos d infiltration shld b 10times by now and it show d weakness of d FG,then d amnesty will b a total mirage

My brother, if u follow this FG, u will develop high blood pressure. Lets just continue to pray.

Obiakor Obioma

Nawah. This is a serious matter. Northeners should fervently see to the end of this insurgency. Their economy is deterioting and the future of the youths and children in these areas is being jeopardized. Their people are living in fear and lifes been lost in quantum on daily bases. Who is losing? Northeners be wise and know that you people are losing and not Goodluck Jonathan’s administration. Jonathan’s administration will come and go, it is transient but the effect of boko haram insurgent will leave a long lasting scar in these areas and in the mind of the people. Northerners wisen up, you are losing.

One day the batle would be over for good..
let take it to God to handle it for us because there is nothing that is too hand for God. With prayer and sincere repentance nothing is impossible.
God will surely deliver this country Nigeria from evil forces

Musa yahaya yusufari

This was how it turned 2 be… Some may weap out tears whl some ar now happy and rejoicing 4 they lack human feelings. May God d Almighty lessen this trouble and ill tension on us

coco bassey, you are always so myopic, the people in borno are getting what they deserve. They want sharia, they want the situation in northern mali to be reproduced in their state, the writer laments the non presence of JTF in northern borno, are the JTF wanted in borno? Did the borno elder no ask jonathan to withdraw the JTF when he visited borno? It appears they now have their full sharia in these ten local govrnment areas of northern borno, let them enbrace their sharia kingdom, why are these same elite who asked jonathan to withdraw the JTF runing to maiduguri to enjoy JTF protection, they should embrace their mali empire!

obj

Michael, indeed you are a good son of your good father. Truely they dont need JTF since they initially asked GEJ to withdraw the jtf. But they need to be reconsider for the sake of life and properties.

MANNER

This matter is purely religion, even some religious pple in d southern part of d country are supporting them in spirit.But all these pple are fighting a battle they can never win, THe Bible says “surely they will gather not because of us” but these pple says they have gathered against us, The Bible now says “they will fall for our sake”.Let us continue praying.

The FG is weak and very slow in action. By now Borno state and some other affected state should be declared as state of emergency, to be control by military. secondly we have military that can go from door to door to flush them out, while wasting time? activities demand actions.

Ebuka Amaechi

With the reported seizured of about Ten (LGA)Govts’Driven away State Govts.Agri cultural empowment agency,which the State Govt. Ve already spent about N5OOm? Meant for about 3O,OOO state farmers, the Sects control of the markets,mounting of Road blocks & fear of foreign Terrosists possiblity of joining the Terrorists Groups in its war against the Country & the reporte d rejection to serve in the Federal Governme nts committee on the Boko Haram insurgen ce by the Chairman of the Council of Sharia in Nigeria,DR.DATTI AHMED and well know n Northern Human rig hts Activitists,MALLAM SHEHU SANI,leaves much to be desired. While Mallam Shehu ve disclosed that none of the Northern Governors,could openly claim contact with the Terrorist Groups,then I wonder wat stops the Nations President/Commander in-Chief of the Naiga Armed forces from declaring State of Emmergency in all the troubled arears in the North,since it has become apparent that the Muslim sponsored insurgents are bent on, with the overt collusion of some highly placed persons in the North to achieve their demand for Islamic Republic of the North.If the Fed Govt.felt intimidated or threatened by the powerful groups not to excercise his constitutional powers over the Boko Haram Terrorists who ve by their actions made the Country unsafe for the Nigerians&foreign investors to come in to invest Let the President take full & decieve action/Consti tutional measures against these Religiou sly motivated Terroris ts,before it is too late.

Dan Hassan Kumbotso

Let the amnesty go on as advised by the northern leaders and lets see if peace will reign. If it does fine but if not it shows they gave birth to children whom were not trained properly and whom they cannot control

Boko haram are demanding for a sharia states for the north, the federal government is using the officer in-charge supreme council of sharia in Nigeria as mediator. what is the joke here. well it is a good way to pin him against his subjects. well done GEJ

iheh fidel

too much comments! Hope my own is not needed cuz i think d answer to this ugly situation is ryt b4 us but our self made leaders lack d needed will power. Abeg! Make i roast my corn

If Boko has taken over any Local Govt. for whatever reason,the FG should stop sending allocations to them immediately

abayo emman

the problem is small flush them out of our country, when OBJ was fighting OPC den in lagos people though play play now where is the OPC nowhere to be found so GBJ can do the same fight is the solution to it fight them to end u have the AMRY,POLICE ,NAVY,AIR FORCES then wat are u waiting for abeg go do ur job if not go resign and go ur house

bassey

which way nijja? with centenary celebration around the corner and all these are happening: are we still brethren? BH, leave us but if you refuse, no one has monopoly of weapons. if there is jihad, may be there is holy war.

JONATHAN REFUSE TO TAKE ACRTION AGAINST THE BOKOS, BECAUSE OF HIS SECOND TERM AMBITION. IF THE WHOLE NOTHERN PART OF NIGERIA IS EMPTY BEFORE 2015 GEJ WHOULD BE HAPPY, IF NOT WHY DID HE REFUSE TO USE THE GOVERMENT MACHINERIES TO TACKLE THIS TERRORIST. I’M SURE JONATHAN WITH SOME BAD ELEMENTS FROM NORTH COLABORATE TOGETHER IN SPONSORING THIS BOKO’S. WELL TIME WILL TELL.

CONCERNED CITIZEN

dare you are a fool. Is your useless father competent to rule over your harlot mother. Stupid BH

Finian C. Onwualu

It is shocking to learn that there is an illegitimate government existing within a legitimate government. The legitimate government is begging the issue. Now it is the rest of us that are law abiding that require to be forgiven by terrorists. That is what Nigeria have turned into. In Plateau state people are killing people as if human beings are animals and I have not heard that those arrested for these murders have been brought to book. That is the irony of Nigeria. The lawless dictate the happenings and get paid. Imagine to hijack a whole market and the Borno people are behaving as if the sect are ghost. They know them. They trained them to intimidate the south. Remember that Kano state have already trained their own Hisbau, waiting for Boko Haram to stop and they will start from where they stopped.

IT’S HIGH TIME TO DECLARE STATE OF EMERGENCY IN BORNO FOR THE PEACE OF THE PEOPLE, MR. PRESIDENT PLEASE TAKE THE BULL BY THE HORN, I STRONGLY BELIEVE THAT WAR SOMETIMES BRING PEACE,IF THEY HAVE REFUSED AMNESTY THEN LET THE OTHER TAKE PLACE.

Pzabura

This above report is very correct except where the reporter said there is no presence of JTF in Borno north. There is the Multinational Joint Task Force and they are doing their best. We should remember that these soldiers also have mothers, fathers and other dependants looking onto them. They should be provided with sophisticated equipment such as aircrafts even drone is not too much. The civil populace is not helping matters. These BH members live within people in the community, they hide them. The soldiers are not magicians to identify them. The communities give them (BH) cover. Sincerely I sympathize with the soldiers because the communities are not helping them. Their fear is that if they expose them and they are arrested the other members will come back and kill the informant or even wipe out the whole community so the whole thing is horrible. Schools in Baga have closed down since last year with the directive of BH. In fact the news about New Marte is 100% correct. The Governor also is trying his best. He cannot just use the whole state allocation to be pursuing BH all about. Its very unfortunate, what I know is that there is no problem greater than God prayer can solve the problem.

CHARLES ORIAKU

IF BOKO HARAM MEMBERS DO NOT WANT AMNESTY, WHAT SO THEY WANT: A NATIONAL CONFERENCE OR ANOTHER CIVIL WAR? THE ERA OF LEADERSHIP BY FORCE IS OVER.

Toka

The Nomadic Fulani’s have said it all they want their own republic why dont you give it to them? No amnesty will work here according to Mr.Sani all they want is their sharia republic created for them, stop calling on Federal Government or president Goodluck Jonathan to pump the south south oil money onto this killers.. The Northern Muslim know the root of this problem they started it thinking they were doing harm to my Oga at the top, but today who is crying? a country where we have good and intelligent people they destroy it with their evil greedy mind, religion fanatic by the way why do they took Nigeria OIC? Why do they bring Sharia to the Land this are question they should answer to the Nigeria people.. If you live in a Glass house don’t throw stone..